Will I?
by SakuraWindChime
Summary: As one of the birthplaces of Amestrian alchemy, Edward has always wanted to visit Chartel. Its lofty towers stretch out as though to transform the sky itself. It was perhaps predestined then that the peaceful aims with which Edward and Alphonse set foot in the town were to be swiftly transformed themselves into an occurrence that they could never have imagined.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Fullmetal Alchemist belongs to the amazing Hiromu Arakawa :)**

 **I absolutely adore FMA, so I hope this fic does it justice!**

 **Enjoy~**

* * *

 **Will I?**

The train slowed smoothly into the modest train station of Chartel, a town in the north-east of Amestris. Edward and his brother, Alphonse, stepped out on to the wooden platform and took in their newly discovered surroundings, never having visited the old town before in their long travels. The train pulled away from the station as Edward placed his worn suitcase on the floor beside him, the wind in its wake breezing past him lazily in the heat as he stretched his arms upward to work out the kinks of his back and flesh arm after being on the train for the whole morning. He proceeded to chase away the last dregs of sleep induced water from the corners of his golden eyes with the back of his gloved finger before turning to his younger brother.

"So, where do you want to go to first, Al?" Edward asked lightly.

"Hmm," the sound reverberated around the hollow suit of armour next to the teenager. "How about we just explore and see what takes our fancy?"

Edward smiled at himself. "Sure thing. We can get on to research a bit later."

It was nice to take a break from their military life once in a while to just enjoy themselves, away from Central, away from that damned Mustang's smug office and far away from the danger that was their life. At least that is what the Fullmetal Alchemist hoped, the pair of brothers had a habit of running into trouble when they least expected it. Rather, Edward was not very good at staying away from it. They could not stray from their purpose of visiting Chartel for long though, they had to search the local alchemic library archives and take another step closer to putting right the mistakes they had made in their past.

The Elric brothers weaved their way through the people on the platform to the exit of the station that lead to the main street of the town. Ed bounded ahead of Alphonse in his excitement to finally set his eyes on the first Amestrian town the Eastern Sage had set foot into, and the first town to ever experience and learn of the scientific wonder that was alchemy. A town he had only ever read about in books was right before his young eyes. It was those first experiences and the very words that the legendary Sage spoke that the studious brothers sought. Surely the penned hand of the Sage would unlock the answers they needed to get their bodies back? The teenagers could only hope. But, it was always that small hope that drove them forward.

Golden eyes widened in awe at the sight of the ancient town still standing, their owner forgetting everyone around him momentarily. Its landmark, sky reaching towers were littered across the landscape for those all around to see. Each stone tower had been standing for hundreds of years, serving as a permanent mark of the power struggles of the alchemists of old. Ed sighed at the thought that even back then alchemy served as a means for political gain.

Edward lifted his red cloaked arm to shield his vision from the sunlight gleaming off the town made of stone to gain a clearer view. A looming shadow moved to stand beside him, which helpfully blocked the bright rays.

The alchemist turned to see who had cast the shadow. "Oh, thanks, Al," he said looking up at his brother, choosing to lower his now unneeded shield. "It sure is handy on days like this that you're ta…," he paused abruptly mid-sentence, quickly averting his eyes away from his brother.

"What was that, Brother?" If Al had his human body, he would have been grinning.

Ed turned his head fully away from the figure and muttered toward the ground, "t-taller."

"I still can't hear you," the younger brother spoke with his voice full of jest. Alphonse knew exactly what Ed had said, having heard what he had spoken perfectly clearly, but it was a very rare occurrence for him to hear his older brother admit that he was short and he intended to fully enjoy the moment.

Edward's gloved hands fisted. "N-Nothing!" He shouted childishly.

The teenager whipped his head up and stalked off down the main street of the town, leaving Alphonse behind in front of the train station. He jogged to catch up with his brother a few seconds later, laughter resounding through his temporary body.

"What're you laughing at?" Ed bristled, pretending to have no memory of admitting to his height complex.

"Nothing," Alphonse practically sang.

Ed sent a pointed glare at his younger brother, knowing that he had purposely given him a taste of his own medicine.

"Fine." Ed said mutinously.

Edward could never become properly angry with his brother, no, he saved all of his stubborn irritation specially for that damnable superior he had to work for.

The golden haired boy and his suit of armour for a brother continued down the straight main road in comfortable silence, drinking in their new surroundings with vigour. People, both inhabitants and tourists, filled the space and air around them with pleasant chatter which created a calm and enjoyable atmosphere that was a nice mix between the bustling Central city and the complete peacefulness that their home town of Resembool was more acquainted with. It surprised Ed that Chartel was actually as mildly busy as it was, but then again it was probably the alchemy nerd within him that had always drawn him to wanting to visit the infamous town. He supposed that to the average person, this was just another town that was too close to the desert to make it worth a special visit.

Thinking of which made Ed let out a small grunt, breaking the serene silence between him and Al, as he grabbed his clothed right shoulder to rub it. "Why does it have to be so hot? I feel like my automail is going to sear a hole through my skin," he whined.

Al's head turned so that he could see his brother. "Well, we are near the desert here. We could go into somewhere for a bit, so that you can cool down?" He suggested.

Edward hummed in approval, "yeah, that sounds good."

The boys cast around to look for a place to rest for a bit when a low growl was heard from Ed's stomach, seemingly answering his unspoken question.

Al perked at the sound, laughing lightly at the noise. "To cool down _and_ eat!"

"The café over there looks good," Ed responded, pointing to a small eatery a couple of shops ahead of them to the left.

With Edward's suggestion, the teenagers headed out of the gleaming sunlight that channelled down the centre of the road toward the café that was shaded by its two neighbouring towers. Figures were just exiting out of the glass door as they approached, they were wearing the blue uniform of the State Military and one of them looked oddly familiar…

"Hey, is that the Colonel?" Al asked with his voice trailing off in surprise, moving his arm to pat his brother on the arm to grab his attention.

Edward huffed irritably, instantly recognising that face and posture of superiority anywhere. He continued his pace toward the entrance of the café that they were steadily gaining on.

"Yeah, that's him alright. We finally get away from the damn colonel, but the bastard always has to be around."

"Aw, come on, brother. He's not that bad." The younger brother lightly chided.

The pair stopped just in front of the glass door, waiting for the small group of soldiers to actually come out of the entrance as they chatted amongst themselves, voices tinged with amusement.

 _They're taking long enough_ , Ed thought prickly.

The raven haired man, who headed the front of the military group, passed through the entranceway leisurely holding a take-away cup of coffee in his ivory gloved hand. Edward watched as Roy Mustang looked ahead of himself, knowing that the man had yet to recognise the two boys standing in close proximity and that he would be preparing himself to smile that sickly, calculating polite smile that he wore in front of strangers to easily gain their trust. The dark pair of eyes roamed from surveying the scene outside and met Ed's golden stare. A spark of recognition flashed, stopping the man in his light tread, surprise momentarily crossed his features with a widening of his dark eyes and a slight raise of his brows before he promptly rearranged them to be replaced with his usual professional mask. Mustang broke from the challenging stare down as he side stepped away from the café entrance, allowing his accompanying men to filter out of the small establishment to wait for him and his subordinate to have their exchange.

Mustang's mouth lifted into a small smirk while he stood in front of the brothers. "Hi, boys. Nice to see you so far out in this famous town."

"Hi, Colonel," Alphonse replied cheerfully.

The two engaged members of the greeting looked toward Edward for his response, only to find the teenager silently refusing to look in the Colonel's direction with his crimson clad arms crossed tightly together.

The alchemist's pointed ignorance only amused Mustang further. "Fullmetal," he prodded, turning his full attention on the small boy.

A short moment of silence followed before Edward lifted his gaze from to the floor to level with Mustang's.

"I'm surprised you stopped flirting with women long enough to read a history book," he took on an air of confidence in uttering his probing insult, grinning.

Mustang's smirk reached his eyes at the comment, taking the bait as he refused to let a good opportunity for a laugh to pass him by.

"You should know that women dig men who are intelligent, Fullmetal," the man jeered, his eyes glinting as he raised a brow and graced Edward with an arrogant smile.

Taken aback, the young alchemist blushed slightly at the insinuation behind the Colonel's words. Mustang grabbed Ed's embarrassed silence by the reigns before the teenager could unscramble his brains to think of a retort.

"What's this? The innocence of one of the most popular State Alchemist's in Central?" The man gaped in mock horror.

Edward shot daggers through his eyes at the bastard. "S-shut up!" He shouted, reeling. "At least I get my work done instead of fooling around all the time," the teenager quipped at the indignation.

One of the men from Mustang's company cleared his throat loudly behind them, catching the attention of the Colonel with a flicker of his eyes. Edward looked past Mustang to see that the other military men were starting to become fidgety.

 _They obviously have somewhere they need to be_ , Edward mused.

Mustang checked his State Certification pocket watch and slipped it back into his blue trousers. He leaned down toward Edward, taking advantage of the boy's momentary lack of attention. Ed whipped his focus back to the older alchemist, refusing to step back from the sudden invasion of his personal space, meeting the challenging action head on.

"Besides, the history of Chartel carries a nice message" the Colonel whispered just loud enough for Ed to hear, making the message strangely private, as the man paused to make sure he had the teenager's full attention. "I like how even the lowest towers can continue to be built upon, using all of the support they have, until they finally dominate over the previously commanding tower."

"I'm sure you do," Edward responded just as quietly.

It was the only response Edward had for the calculating Colonel. He watched as the man straightened himself from their briefly intimate scene, catching the purposeful glint in Mustang's dark eyes before he rearranged his features again into his well-practiced, charming mask. The young alchemist knew that Mustang was using the towers as a metaphor for his own quick rise to power through the military, after his performance in the awful Ishvalan Civil War hailed him a "Hero of Ishval" in the media, and of the man's aim of eventually toppling the place of the current Fuhrer, King Bradley.

Mustang motioned to his group with a smooth flick of his hand for them to leave, as the man himself started forward. The two brothers watched as the small group of blue clad men began to move as a unit away from the café. Edward locked eye contact with one of the men at the back, as he looked back to the two alchemists. The leering smirk the unfamiliar man gave him set the State Alchemist on edge. Ed was just about to march up to the man to ask him what his problem was before Mustang called out over his shoulder.

"Stay out of trouble, Fullmetal," he raised in a matter of fact tone.

 _Damn that Colonel, it's like he read my mind_ , Edward cursed inwardly.

"Hey!" Edward shouted, fully wrenched away from his annoyance at the companion to instead focus it Mustang. "I'm not your kid! I can do what I want," he voiced petulantly.

Edward heard the aggravating snicker, knowing that he had just played into the bastard superior's hands to get a laugh out of him.

"The coffee here is great!" The Colonel called out, no longer looking at the two brothers anymore. "See you later, boys," he waved backwardly in his wake, as he headed toward the tower on the other side of the street.

Both of the young alchemists stared after the group for a few moments, watching their retreating backs, before gathering themselves in remembrance of what they were at the café for.

Edward was the first to speak up. "Come on, Al," he said, shaking off his annoyance at the Colonel and the niggling foreboding feeling he had. "Let's get some food."

* * *

A short amount of time passed as the two travelling brothers sat in the café, while Edward gorged on his first meal of the day, as their journey on the train had not allowed them to stop off for long enough. They had been having a pleasant conversation about what they were hoping to discover in the depths of the library archives, which they had decided they were going to visit after Ed had his fill of food, before their chatter unfortunately turned onto the subject of the bastard again.

"What do you think the Colonel was here for?" Alphonse asked after a lull in their talking.

"I don't know, probably just for a meeting or something," Ed shrugged, completely disinterested in the subject of their superior. They had just seen him, damn it!

"Hmm," the suit of armour paused for a moment and he mused. "It seems a long way to come just for a meeting."

It was the sceptical tone in Al's voice that piqued the older brother's attention. Such a tone indicated that his younger brother thought that there was more to the situation than had previously met the eye. In the unfortunate circumstances of their past travels, the brothers had come to realise that their Elric intuition of ulterior motives usually proved to be right.

"What do you me-"

The sound of an explosion abruptly stopped Edward's question in its tracks. The once serene atmosphere outside of the café was shattered as screaming ensued. Ed's eyes widened and the two brothers jumped up at the chaos and hysteria quickly filling the main street. The two alchemists darted out of the café and into the scene, completely forgetting their lunch and Edward's suitcase in their wake. Smoke and dust clogged the air, causing Edward to cough while surveying the scene before him. People were running away from the tower that was across the road, exactly where the origin of all the smoke seemed to be emanating from.

 _Wait, wasn't that the tower the Colonel went into?_ Panic fluttered inside Edward's chest, but he quickly quashed it. The Colonel could handle himself.

"What's going on?" Alphonse questioned quickly, his voice heightened.

Ed's golden eyes darted around the wide street in an attempt to find a witness to what had happened. He ran toward a man who was standing, staring at the former entranceway of the tower opposite them. All he could see of the destruction was thick, orange tainted smoke exuding from inside the tower, hinting at the fire that raged within as a backlash of the explosion.

Alphonse stood swiftly behind him when Ed had reached the man, who upon a closer look was covered in dust and dirt. "Wait, Brother, he might be in shock."

"Hey!" The Fullmetal Alchemist prompted, half shouting at the dazed man. The teenager grabbed the man's arm when he did not receive an immediate response, causing the victim to startle. That is exactly what Al had wanted to avoid.

"What happened here? What caused the explosion?" Edward tumbled out his demands.

The shocked man's eyes, wide rimmed and glazed with fear, tentatively turned to meet Ed's face. "I-I don't know..." The man breathed, as if he had been holding his breath before that moment.

Edward released the man's arm, as he turned slightly away from the gaping tower to fully acknowledge the two alchemists, his eyes sliding upward to Alphonse's metal head.

"One moment," the man began, swallowing. "I was walking toward the entrance to the tower. The next… I was flung away," he whipped his arm backward to demonstrate the power and force of his removal, causing him to stagger back slightly. Fear was utterly palpable in his voice.

The two teenagers immediately examined the victim with their gazes to check for any obvious signs of injury, but he seemed to check out fine aside from the momentary balance issue.

"Thank you for your help, Sir." Al spoke peacefully. "You should get yourself to the hospital in case you have any injuries that we can't see."

"Okay."

At his dull reply, Alphonse spoke again worried about the man's mental state. "Are you okay to get there on your own?"

The younger Elric noticed movement beside him and he looked away from the man's tensed body briefly to see his brother wander toward the tower. Concern for his brother's safety away from him wriggled at the back of his mind. Not because Alphonse doubted Ed's alchemic ability, but more that he doubted his ability to stay out of life threatening trouble.

"I'll be fine, thank you."

The man's voice returned Alphonse's attention back to the person in front of him. The victim had sounded surer of himself and the teenager watched him slowly walk away, down the street and away from the explosion sight. Once he was sure that the man was far enough away, Alphonse promptly returned to face the direction that Ed had ventured to. But, he could not see Edward. The younger brother started forward, turning his head side to side. The dusty smoke had permeated more of the atmosphere since the brother's exchange with the man and it had made visibility more difficult, making it even harder to spot Ed. He was sure that the density of the dust would have made it difficult for him to breathe, if he had his human body. It was then that Alphonse noticed that it was quiet, too quiet for it to be the aftermath of an event which caused an explosion.

Alphonse hastened his search, worry spreading through him. "Edward!" The teenager shouted.

A second explosion sounded from the other side of the tower, followed almost instantaneously by crashing, alarming Alphonse. The ground shook and a new plume of smoke, and dust, rushed out of the gaping hole in the tower toward Al, causing him to lose his balance, but he managed to stay upright as he shielded his face from the air borne debris. The alchemist heard cracking and the crumbling of stone as it hit the ground around him. Alphonse lowered his arms, straightening himself as small stones clanged against his metal body. Fear gripped him.

"Alphonse."

Al heard his name called in the distance beyond him by the heart achingly familiar voice. A small figure rapidly emerged from the hole in the tower before him. Golden hair and a crimson coat sped toward him.

Relief flushed through the younger teenager. "Brother," he spoke.

Edward looked up then, distress etched into his features.

"RUN!" Ed bellowed. "The tower is caving in."

Alphonse stood stunned for a couple of seconds before Edward almost collided with him and grabbed his arm to get his brother moving. The older alchemist ran as fast as he could, Alphonse just barely behind his brother in their effort to get away from the crashing tower.

"What did you do?!" Alphonse accused.

"Nothing!" Edward's breath was coming hard and fast. "Like usual!"

"That's a lie! Why were you in there in the first place?" Alphonse did not want to take this time to berate his brother's foolishness, but to wander off into a tower in which an explosion had just happened was plain reckless.

"It's the truth." The teenager panted. "People were fighting."

A third explosion wrecked the atmosphere. The pulse emitted whipped past the two brothers, pushing them off their feet, as their bodies bowed and were launched away from the ground. Edward and Alphonse smacked into the cobbled street, forcing the air out of Ed's lungs. Dizziness swarmed Ed's mind and vision, as a high pitched buzz seized his hearing, making his head difficult to control when he lifted it away from the smooth stone floor that was now slicked with crimson.

"Brother," Ed heard faintly, the summoning call hardly registering with the alchemist.

Edward pushed his exerted torso off the ground, the supporting pillar of his flesh arm shaking with the effort while his automail arm was still strong and intact. Good. He sat up, turning his body to face the way him and Alphonse had been running to peer at the destruction.

"Ed," the teenager heard louder as the buzzing subsided. Anxiety tinged his brother's voice.

"Alphonse," he responded, somewhat numbly.

The suit of armour let out a sound of relief. "Thank goodness," he spoke, shaking his head slightly.

Edward looked toward the tower that had exploded. Smoke made the air thick, causing Ed to cough and breathe heavily. Cracking echoed throughout the atmosphere, puncturing it with each new snap of stone as the tower had begun to lean forward. Blood trickled into Edward's eye making him shut it and rub his face with his hands, smearing the crimson across his face. When he opened his golden eyes again, he focused harder on the explosion site. It looked as though the most recent explosion had come from the other tower across the street.

"There's something odd with the centre of the street between the towers," Alphonse stated, bewildered.

Edward narrowed his vision on the place Al mentioned. There was a dense blackness there and water seemed to be spurting up from it. _Is that a… hole?_

Edward looked up to the two damaged towers again to see that they were teetering toward each other, excelling at an alarming rate.

"They're going to collide," Ed whispered just loud enough for Alphonse to hear.

"We need to get out of here," Al replied with an equal amount of dazedness.

Snapping thundered around the two brothers and the ground shifted.

"Brother." Alphonse's voice raised, "the ground." Fear shook his tone.

Edward's eye flitted to the cobbled street to witness ragged fractures littering the floor from the dense blackness, spreading quickly toward them.

"Shit." Edward exclaimed. "The ground is going fall into the sewers."

The brothers both glanced at each other, both taking in their brother's identical alarm.

"Just run."

Edward and Alphonse scrambled up as the fractures began to reach them.

"Run!"

They ran for what seemed like only a few seconds before Ed stumbled. The combination of his probable concussion from colliding with the ground and the smoke making it difficult for him to breathe, hindered his ability to run. Alphonse rushed ahead slightly, but quickly noticed his brother's absence and grinded to a halt.

"Don't look back! You have to keep running." Ed's voice was filled with urgency and panic, as he looked behind him at the rapidly advancing fractures.

Before Alphonse could reply with his 'hell no, never in a million years would I leave you behind', Edward started forward again.

But, it was too late.

The cobbled street lowered slightly and Edward took one last, fearful look at his younger brother before the street collapsed from underneath him, separating the two brothers at the fault line where the old cobbles met the concrete of the New Down Town.

"Alphonse!"

"No! Brother!" Alphonse bellowed, running and dropping next to the ragged divide in the street as he gripped the edge with a death embrace.

" **Brother**! _Brother_!" Alphonse's voice cracked with utter terror, his calling echoed into the broken sewer feet beneath him.

Alphonse could not see anything in the blackness of the destruction.

* * *

 **A/N: Bam, first chapter! This is only going to be a short fic, probably about three chapters from what I can see occurring thus far. But, who knows where this could go? Haha :P**

 **I had the inspiration for this story when I was on the train back home and I was listening to 'Will I' from the RENT soundtrack. The scene that will appear in the next chapter just hit me and it all developed from there! Also, if you haven't seen RENT, go watch it - it's great :)**

 **I'm looking forward to what you guys think**  
 **SakuraWindChime~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Crashes deafened the atmosphere and shook the very landscape of the old town of Chartel, as two of its ancient towers collided with fatal force. On the very edge of the devastation, Alphonse continued to bellow into the yawning ground where his brother had fallen. His voice echoed into the black expanse, yielding no reply from Edward. With the instability of the wrecked ground, he had to find a way down without using alchemy or he would create further damage. The suit of armour wrenched his gaze away from the collapsed sewer to survey the devastation of the street, his luminous red eyes desperately searched for a way down to where his brother may lay unconscious. Al took his hands away from their harsh grip on the ragged edge of the collapsed street to wrap them around his metal body. The young alchemist had to reign in his emotions and sober himself up to focus his mind in order to find a way down to Ed, otherwise he would be of no help to anyone if he let his fear take over. It was difficult to see into the distance, where the towers were, with the dense dust that had settled to hover over the town, but Alphonse could see that not all of the street had collapsed. There were still cobbles that hugged the foundations of the shops that lined the perimeter of the central road, not a vast amount but enough to walk on in single file.

"It must have only been the central sewer that collapsed," Alphonse muttered to himself.

 _If only we hadn't run in the middle…_ The teenager thought dismally.

Alphonse swiftly brought his hands up to his head and slapped them to his temples. "I mustn't think like that," he chided himself aloud. "I've got to help Brother."

With his new found determination, Alphonse rose from his despair and jogged to the remaining intact cobbles at the side of the street. His hollow footfalls echoing off the fallen rubble. He proceeded to move toward the area where the towers had collapsed, constantly looking down over the jutted edge in an attempt to find a safe way to descend into the darkness. As Alphonse readily gained on the site, the density of the rubble of the fallen towers littered the pathway and made his approach increasingly difficult to traverse. Shouting busied the atmosphere with noise and Al could sense hurried movement just ahead of him. Alphonse increased his speed, momentarily leaving his search for a place to descend to find the source of the commotion. He climbed over a mass of stone to find a group of people fighting.

 _Could they be the same fighting group that Brother had been talking about?_

A blur of blue caught Al's attention and, as he focused on the figure, a burst of red and orange flame from the blue-clad figure illuminated the surroundings confirming his growing hope.

"Colonel!" Alphonse shouted, elation bursting in his tone. If anyone could help, it was him.

At the call of the familiar voice, Mustang halted in his hot pursuit of his target. His head whipped round to the direction of the speaker and briefly paused his readying hand for another click of his fingers. The man's grim expression lifted slightly at the sight of the suit of armour, his ebony eyes the brightest feature on his dust and bloodied face.

"Alphonse!" Mustang called back. "You and Fullmetal go around the back, there's two lackeys hanging back. I'll handle the ring leader," the Colonel commanded succinctly before turning back to attack the enemy that Alphonse could barely see.

Al started forward, anxiety seeping into his frame.

 _But_.

"Colonel," Alphonse almost cried. "Ed's not-."

"Get going," Mustang cut off the young alchemist's plea abruptly, not turning to look at the boy. "Before they create any more chaos," the man called behind him, before running after the menacing figure in the distance.

Alphonse stared after the retreating back of the military officer momentarily, at a loss as to what to do. Al and Mustang together would be far more likely to find his brother quicker than Alphonse searching alone, plus if Mustang needed his help then he would give it. That was fine, beat two people and look for Ed. That sounded fine.

The teenager began to climb over the vast mound of fallen rubble that had made up the two towers which had stood over the town no more than thirty minutes prior, knowing that the rubble had filled the area where the massive hole in the road had been. Alphonse searched for the enemies that Mustang had appointed him to, but he could not see anyone around. Movement in his peripheral to his left caught Al's attention and he cast his gaze around, shifting his body into a defensive position. Nothing else made itself apparent as Alphonse kept his stance, waiting for the attack he knew would come. It was eerily quiet around him, save for the distant sounds of battle from what must have been Mustang fighting the leader of the group. Alphonse cast his gaze around, constantly searching for any hint of movement from his enemy but he could not find anything to hint at an approach.

"Argh." A weight fell on to Alphonse's back, causing him to cry out with the jolt and the sudden sound of the clang from his body.

Alphonse swung round to dislodge the weight from his back, but the figure held on to his metal shoulder spikes to prevent falling off. Something grabbed his right forearm, stopping him abruptly in his swing. The teenager faltered, his footing lost temporarily before he regained it and stood his ground. Al cast down at the figure clutching his arm to find a gaunt man, with his mouth clasped tightly round his metallic sheathing. With the teeth biting into his arm, Alphonse fisted his hand and pushed his arm away from his body hard and fast, using the momentum to make the foe release him by rocking him backwards. The man immediately released and was flung away from Alphonse, colliding with the makeshift rubble ground a little way from him. With one down, Al pitched his body forward, bending at his hips to force off the figure that was still on his back. The figure lost its grip and crashed into the ground before the suit of armour. Al used the brief opportunity that the two figures were down to hop backwards, so he could take in and analyse his two opponents who had finally shown themselves.

The duo had lifted themselves back into a standing position by the time Alphonse had gained a safe distance. Having taken a careful look at the men, Al noticed that their expressions seemed to hold no emotion, rather they were slack faced and their eyes seemed to not be able focus on anything. Their identical faces displayed glazed eyes that favoured a distanced gaze at the floor rather than a zoning on their opponent, which unsettled Alphonse. It was far more usual for the enemy to look determined, or even excited, but never… disinterested. It was like there was not even a soul inhabiting the bodies to give them a personality. The younger Elric shifted his footing, preparing for an onslaught at any time.

At the movement, the two men whipped their heads to Alphonse's direction and immediately started forward. Alphonse raised his arms, ready for their attack. The first jumped up and sent a flying kick aimed at the teenager's head, which Alphonse blocked with his forearm. The other dipped low, shot out his leg and swung it round to knock Al's legs from under him, but the teenager jumped over it. Taking advantage of their lapse for recovery, the alchemist threw punches at their bodies, looking to knock them out rather than seriously damage them. They seemed to be easily thrown off balance with the attacks they came in contact with, almost as if they hardly weighed anything. Alphonse parried their own punches and kicks easily. When the traditional form of attack failed them, the men resorted to biting and locking their jaws on to Al's armour, forcing him to repeatedly shake them off.

 _They're more like animals than people_ , Alphonse wondered, astounded.

After another round of parrying and shaking off, it dawned on Alphonse that these men were not using alchemy when their physical attacks were not working. Taking advance of his upper hand, in a swift movement Alphonse clapped his hands together and pushed them to the ground. Cobalt, static tendrils raised themselves from the ground as small stone cannons were transmuted from the rubble. Rocks were rapidly shot at the men, knocking them backwards and stunning them. It was a risky move with the unstable nature of the ground, but it was effective and it would mean that Al could defeat them and find Edward quicker. The two men stumbled, moving to distance themselves out of the range of the onslaught of the rock bullets. Alphonse released the cannons and clapped his hands together again, pushing them to the ground and focusing the transmutation energy on the area surrounding the two men. Glowing cobalt chased a jagged pattern across the fallen stone toward the enemies as condensed rock rose away from the ground in thick lines. The masses of rock bent backward in the air to form bowed columns, looming over the men staring disinterested at the commotion around them as they fused in the centre above their heads, trapping the two in a tight, rock cage.

With his opponents prevented from attacking any further, Alphonse stood up, turning his back on the men, and swiftly began to look around for Mustang. The teenager needed to meet back up with the Colonel, so that he could resume his search for Edward. Scuffling and a thud sounded from behind Alphonse. He whipped round to find the two men collapsed on the floor of the cage. The teenager approached to see what had happened. The mouths of his enemies were hanging open and their gazes were vacant, their breathing completely stopped with no sign of any physical injuries save from what Alphonse had inflicted upon them.

"What?" Alphonse questioned in disbelief. _It's like they just dropped like dolls_.

Confused, Al peered around him to find the culprit but he could not see anyone. Not even Mustang.

* * *

Beneath the ground level of the town, deep within the broken environment of the tunnelled sewer, Edward's body shifted sluggishly as his mind begun to resurface from its protective unconsciousness. The teenager's heavy eyelids cracked open, revealing his golden irises underneath glazed over as if just waking from a night's sleep, though the dark shadows that contrasted his pale skin and rimmed his lower lids stated otherwise. Shards of hazy light shone through the breaks in the rubble that surrounded the alchemist, but to his foggy mind they appeared to Edward as rays of sunlight seeping in through a gap in the curtains. Though, as he briefly glanced around he could not recognise his dark surroundings, or remember how he got there. But, as someone accustomed to travel he figured it was not unusual to be initially disorientated upon waking up in yet another different place. Ed slid his head to the side, expecting to find Al sat beside him in the immediate vicinity like he would usually be. At not being able to see his younger brother, Edward's brows knitted together in muddled confusion.

"Al?" He called out meekly, but there was no response.

At having heard no reply, Edward moved his weight on to his left side and slid his flesh arm upward to act as a prop for his lifted torso. Unable to bear the weight, Ed's arm quaked and collapsed from under him causing his body to slam into the ground painfully.

"Argh," Edward groaned, a grimace passed over his features as pain seeped into his frame.

Edward decided instead to roll himself into a sitting position. The alchemist's consciousness grew increasingly sharper as his senses picked up that something was amiss. The ground felt slick and wet under his body, like he had been laying out in the rain, and Ed swore that he heard the dripping of water around him. Golden eyes cast down to investigate why his arm did not support his weight to find the crimson cloak wrapped around it was torn to shreds, his skin patterned with interlaced blood and dirt. Uncertainty gripped at Edward's heart, as the pump of adrenaline rushed in his ears.

 _Screaming._

 _Crashing._

 _Air clogged with smoke and dust._

Flickers of memory emerged in Edward's mind's eye, slamming into his thickened thoughts like Mustang's insults. His heart rate increased and pounded against its cage.

 _Explosions from towers._

 _Running._

 _Cracks spreading toward him._

 _Alphonse screaming his name._

Searing pain flittered across the back of Edward's head, wrenching him away from the hammering realization of the devastation that had occurred. He had fallen into the sewer and the last he saw of Alphonse was the suit of armour running toward him as the ground gave way. The teenager raised his flesh hand to the back to his head to placate the intense burning only to find his hair heavy with thick liquid. Ed brought his protesting arm away from his head to find his palm covered in blood.

"Damn it. A head injury is all I need," Edward lamented.

The teenager lowered his hand and cradled his tingling arm in his lap. Edward glanced at his automail arm to check its condition to find his cloak had been completely removed from it, exposing its glinting surface to the air. Despite all of the commotion, he found it to still be completely intact. Damn, Winry was the best automail engineer. Edward very much doubted that any other automail mechanic would have been able to build him a good enough arm and leg to withstand all the abuse that they went through. Thinking about his home, Edward hoped with all of his being that his brother had not been caught up in the collapse. If his younger brother was still on the surface Mustang would be able to help him; at least he was positive that his beyond irritating superior was dependable with that notion. The man never knew the boundaries of his duty.

 _You'd think the bastard Colonel would hear the commotion of two towers crashing down to earth_ , Edward's mouth quipped up at the thought despite his circumstances.

The teenager let out a short, humourless laugh. It was ironic how, for once, Edward had not dragged himself into any trouble of his own accord, and yet there he was bleeding from a head injury, his flesh arm was busted and he was alone. The clang of metal roused the teenager out of his inner musings, causing him to whip his head in the direction of the familiar sound. Sparks flickered his vision from the sudden motion and Edward squinted into the blackness ahead of him to discern the origin of the quickly approaching noise. A large figure emerged out of the gloom, as sunlight hit its silver surface and reflected painfully into Edward's eyes.

"Brother!" The figure shouted, merging his pace into a run upon seeing the person he had been looking for.

Edward ripped open his eyelids, which had closed reflexively to protect his vision from the glinting armour.

"Al," Edward called quietly, still finding his voice.

A genuine smile graced his face upon seeing his younger brother, relief flooded his being, "Al!"

As Alphonse gained on the location of his seated brother, Edward hurriedly scanned for any signs of damage to the armour. Upon seeing how pristine the metallic surface was, Ed wondered how much of a miracle it was that Alphonse was utterly devoid of blemishes compared to the damage Edward himself had sustained.

"I'm glad you're okay," Edward spoke, watching as the younger alchemist dropped to his knees once he was in front of Edward.

Worried hands ghosted over Edward's wounded body, assessing the extent of his injuries. Glowing red eyes raised themselves to Ed's golden, witnessing the solace that danced there, due to finding Al well, entangled with the glistening layer of pain that Edward was doing his best not to show as to not frighten his younger brother.

"We need to get you out of here," Alphonse announced, raising himself and straightening out his body from its kneeling position.

Edward's gaze softened, a small smile gracing his lips as his pain wracked frame released its tension. "Yeah," Ed agreed.

Chuckling reverberated around the inside of Alphonse's body. The foreign sound alerted Edward's attention, his gaze losing its softened quality.

"That's too bad," a raspy voice spoke from Alphonse that did not belong to the teenager.

Edward's brows furrowed in disbelief, not willing to accept what he had heard. The crackled, electric sound of transmutation surrounded the two figures as red light flooded the atmosphere, illuminating the blackness with a haunting glow as neon tendrils flittered across the suit of armour that stood before Edward. Golden eyes widened as they darted across the surface of Al's body, watching as his metal form slowly distorted from his feet upward. The signature tell-tale signs of transmutation mutilated his younger brother's body as piece by each rectangular piece the cold armour transformed into pale flesh. The wide body lifted away to reveal a slender, toned physique clothed in black cloth wrapped lowly around their groin and with a black, tight fitting crop top that reached up to its neck. Ed's shocked gaze flickered to the red that stained the pale flesh on the thing's left thigh. The Ouroboros tattoo present confirmed what Edward already knew and dreaded. The teenager's face dropped to a grimace.

"Envy," Edward growled.

The hope and relief that Ed had briefly felt vanished, expression turned hard. Just when the alchemist had thought that Alphonse was safe and that he would be able to go to somewhere to tend his injuries. The androgynous homunculus's chuckling grew into a louder, more obnoxious laughter.

"Aww man," Envy drawled, wrapping his arms around his torso as if to quell his muscles that ached from laughing too much. "It's so great watching humans as the look of joy upon seeing their loved ones shatters before my eyes," his violet eyes bored down onto Edward, who met his challenged stare. "Especially when I'm the one to shatter them," he whispered in mock drama, smiling sickeningly.

Edward's head hammered. "What've you done with him?! Where's Alphonse?" Ed shouted as loudly as he could, fighting against his protesting body as he struggled to stand.

If the beast had done anything to Alphonse, he would pay dearly no matter what condition his body was in. Ed's world pitched forward as his head swam and sparks scattered across his vision. Edward dropped almost immediately upon standing, his knees smashed harshly against the slick concrete as he collided with it. Pain stretched out across his knees and raced up his thighs from the shock of the collision, adding yet another injury to the already wrecked body of the small teenager.

Envy laughed at Edward's ill attempt at standing and moved to loom over the fallen alchemist. "Humans are so gullible," the homunculus smirked. "But, then again, my performance is always amazing."

The young alchemist scrambled underneath Envy, who was quickly closing the little space between them. On his back, Edward cursed and leaned shakily on his automail arm, never taking his eyes away from his enemy, but his strength was waning from his blood loss.

"If you've done anything to Alphonse, I swear-"

"Oh, I've done nothing to your precious little brother, Pipsqueak," Envy spoke as if bored. "I had to stop my delicious fight with Mustang, so that the boy didn't exert himself," he sighed wistfully. "We can't have our youngest sacrifice collapsed on us. Especially with his temporary body and all."

Envy stared down at Edward devilishly, the playful expression too familiar.

 _A leering smirk looking back at him from behind Mustang's retreating back_.

Golden eyes widened with realisation. "You were the one with the Colonel," Ed accused. Damn it, why could he not have noticed that sooner? He could have stopped all of this from happening. Idiot.

The homunculus's smirk widened into a genuine grin at his own brilliance. "It's clicked," he hummed in approval.

The bastard was going to pay. Envy had plotted this devastation that had happened to Chartel and Edward was going to make the homunculus feel pain for it. From Envy's words it sounded as though Mustang and Alphonse could not have sustained too much damage, otherwise they would not have been able to fight. Driven with determination to defeat the damned enemy and get back to Alphonse, Edward once again struggled up onto his knees, ignoring every scream and protest of his body, as the over exertion caused more blood to flow from his head injury making him feel woozy and lose balance easily. The alchemist proceeded to force his hands together, willing his flesh arm that seared with pain to perform a transmutation into the ground.

A foot rushed toward the teenager and connected with his jaw, snapping his head and body backward into the sharp rubble that had fallen behind him. The rock agonisingly dug into the wound already present at the back of Edward's head and bit into the rest of his sore body, his vision clouded over and ringing returned in his ears as blood rushed to escape through the wound. Ed blinked up at Envy as the homunculus invaded his space, extending his arm to rest just above the teenager laying on the ground to hold himself up; Envy's thick, blackened locks of hair brushed against his face.

"Now, now, don't go doing that," Envy spoke as he stared down at Edward, smug.

"Why… did you do this?" Edward panted, trying to get up but his body refused to comply, his limbs feeling uncoordinated.

Violet eyes glinted at the golden opportunity of being able to brag. "We had to teach the flame thrower a lesson to not go sticking his nose where it doesn't belong," Envy sighed, straightening his body so that he could lift his arms into a shrug. Edward's eyes never once leaving the figure. "But, alas, he is a potential sacrifice, so I couldn't play with him too much."

Edward's brows furrowed in confusion at the implicated meaning of Envy's words. As far as he was aware, the homunculi sacrifices were himself and Alphonse. They had never said anything about Mustang being a sacrifice before. Envy moved to the left side of Ed and reached out to the fallen chunks of road that rested precariously beside the figures.

"What are you tal-."

Envy pushed a large, jutted shard of rubble and rammed it down onto Edward's arm. The automail crushed easily under the weight of the rock, the snapping and screeching audible in the echoed cavern of the broken sewer.

"AHH!" Edward's confusion and question completely swallowed as he screamed in agony.

The teenager writhed in pain, trying to clutch at his searing shoulder, which was attached to his mangled automail, but his right arm had almost become unusable from its injuries. Ed barely heard the manic laughing that Envy was consumed with above the harsh battering of his heartrate. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, enthusing his muscles with the energy needed to run in its flight response but he was pinned to the ground, unable to move.

The homunculus clutched his stomach until his laughter subsided enough for him to draw in breath. "It was just too tempting!" He snorted out, wiping an amused tear from his eye.

"Now," Envy's expression darkened, quickly sobered up from his fun as he leaned over Ed. "You better take the same warning as Flame and keep your nose out of Father's plan until we want you. Got that?" he threatened.

Despite his position, Edward did not hesitate to rise to the threat. "Like hell," the teenager spat with more menace than his body was willing to give.

Envy tutted at the response, his expression turned sour. The homunculus placed his leg on top of the rubble trapping Edward against the ground and pushed his full weight onto it, knowing that he weighed far more than he appeared due to his true form.

"Argh!" Edward exclaimed through gritted teeth, as throbbing fire spread through his shoulder and upper torso.

Seemingly satisfied with Ed's punishment Envy removed his leg from the rubble, relieving the pressure from the destroyed arm. Blood flowed freely from the wrecked arm socket, the thick crimson puddled and joined the previously spilled blood underneath the alchemist.

"Anyhoo, must dash," Envy raised his hand in goodbye, his tone once again lighter. "I better fetch for some aid before you bleed out on us."

Envy turned his back on the teenager, transmutation sounds crackled through the atmosphere as he shifted into the guise of a random by-stander.

"Don't die, Pipsqueak," the homunculus called out behind him, not looking back at the damage he had caused.

Edward watched Envy slink away with hooded eyes. The figure blurred as pain seized his mind and pulled him against his will into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **A/N: Did you guys enjoy the surprise? Muahahahahaa :P  
This chapter was published a little later than I had intended, so hopefully you guys will get the next chapter sooner!**

 **Please review, I'd love to see your thoughts :)**


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